Wearable payment solutions will see upsurge, says CII-PwC report

Wearable payment solutions will also see an upsurge which will have minimal turnaround time for payment, says a report by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and PwC report.

The report said that with the proliferation of mobile-based services and the reducing median price of smartphones, the payment industry is on an exponential growth trajectory.

It explained that the innovative and disruptive solutions have made this volume-intensive and low-margin industry a lucrative one. For example, M-Swipe has given an alternative solution to POS machines given by banks, thus increasing the reach of digital payment to traditionally cash-only transaction-based services (such as barber shops and kirana stores, etc) in a cost-effective manner.

"Dematerialisation and digitisation of plastic cards will force banks to re-invent and innovate. Ease of making payment is the new customer demand which will see a departure from traditional encrypted password-based payments to biometric security-based payments," the report said.
 
As per the CII-PwC report some of the topmost trends to look out for in 2015 are innovative customer acquisition and engagement strategies, disruptive solutions in the payments space, and disruptive innovations from non-conventional financial players.   
 
The e-commerce boom has also fueled the customer’s comfort with online purchases, which is slowly filtering to the financial products space. The report said that banks can use these channels to reach out to new customers including those in smaller cities.

 
Vivek Belgavi, leader Financial Services Technology PwC India said: “With non-traditional players such as Telcos, Fintech start-ups, and niche payments companies disrupting the digital space, there will be an increased onus on traditional banks to augment their current capabilities with innovation in the ecosystem, potentially leveraging investments, to maintain their differentiation.”
 
Increase in the volume as well as value of digital transactions has made payments susceptible to various security risks. Security breaches can damage reputations and destroy trust, thereby jeopardising the investments made in digital solutions.
 
In order to address these new age risks, it said that organisations will have to adopt a cyber-security approach, which not only addresses risks associated with the traditional IT realm, but also those that emerge from the extended business ecosystem.